![]() ![]() To explore the physics behind the flood – how it moved so quickly and caused so much damage – researchers combed hundreds of pages of historical accounts and contemporary newspaper articles, studied century-old maps of buildings in the area, and requested historic data from the National Weather Service. The wave moved through the neighborhood at more than 50 feet per second. 15, 1919, when a giant storage tank – 50 feet tall and 90 feet wide – collapsed on Boston's waterfront at the Purity Distilling Co., releasing more than 2.3 million gallons of molasses into Boston's North End. The flood began shortly after 12:40 pm local time on Jan. Human beings – men and women – suffered likewise."īut how, exactly, did the sticky, sweet substance commonly found in cookies turn so deadly? That's the question researchers set out to answer in a new study presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics in Portland, Ore. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. "Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was. Here and there struggled a form – whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell," the Boston Post reported at the time. ![]() "Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage. The deadly 25-foot wave of molasses that flowed through Boston's North End, flattening buildings in its wake, may sound like a scenario in a science fiction movie – but for the 21 people killed and 150 injured in the flood, the nightmarish scene was very real. His message: Go home.Īfter nearly one hundred years, scientists have come up with an explanation for one of history's strangest disasters: the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. In the end, someone from the office of archconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had to go to the airport. Iranian recruits hungry for revenge showed up at an airport in Tehran, ready for battle. In the first few hours of Hamas’ offensive, Israel’s intelligence and military were clearly knocked off balance – a moment Hezbollah could have taken advantage of.It reminds me of an incident 15 years ago, when an Israeli offensive in Gaza killed 1,400 Palestinians. ![]() It has eased back its nuclear program – in an apparent unwritten agreement with Washington – and dabbled in reconciliation with Arab neighbors.In that context, it is noteworthy that Hezbollah did not launch its own assault from the north. Aware of the risks of a broader conflagration, leaders on all sides appear to have little appetite for one.Iran is already grappling with widespread internal unrest and a dismal economy crushed by U.S.-led sanctions. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week denied any role. Likewise, analysts noted that the decision for a Hezbollah-Israel war would be made by Iran.American and Israeli officials have stated they see no evidence of a direct Iranian role in the Hamas assault. As I explored further, however, it became clear that Hezbollah’s leadership had recently taken multiple steps to de-escalate – to ensure that high-stakes events with Israel never spiraled into war. The fighters described their eagerness to take part in an inevitable next and “final battle” against Israel – targeting airports, barracks, and bases, and seizing large parts of territory. The militant movement is backed by Iran and is far, far more militarily capable than Hamas. Might the Islamic Republic’s long-standing antipathy toward Israel lead to a broader and even more destructive regional fight?During a recent visit to Lebanon, I was surprised by the determination of veteran Hezbollah fighters to take on Israel directly. As the scale and significance of the surprise Hamas raid against Israel become clearer, questions are being raised about Iran’s role. ![]()
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